I have just completed reviewing "Reinventing Darwin: The great debate at
the high table of evolutionary theory" by Niles Eldredge for _Perspectives
on Science and Christian Faith_. Here's the review:
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"Reinventing Darwin: The great debate at the high table of evolutionary
theory" by Niles Eldredge. New York, Wiley, 1995. 244 pages, bibliography,
index. Hardcover; $27.95.
Niles Eldredge is a curator in the Department of Invertebrates at the
American Museum of Natural History. With Stephen Jay Gould, he formulated
the theory of punctuated equilibria in the early 70's. Based on
observations of fossil distributions in the geologic column, Eldredge and
Gould concluded that the dominant pattern of evolution is long periods of
stasis interrupted by brief periods of rapid evolutionary change. While
the punctuated equilibria model appeared to fit the geological data better
than the gradualism of conventional Darwinism, it was not received with
great enthusiasm by the evolutionary biology community.
In this book Eldredge describes many of the skirmishes which have occurred
between the geneticists in the evolutionary biology community -- whom he
refers to as "ultra-Darwinians"-- and the community he calls "naturalists"
-- mostly paleontologists -- who prefer the punctuated equilibria model.
He delineates the points of disagreement between the two camps, and
explains why, in his view, the punctuated equilibria view is superior to
the conventional population genetics view.
The book takes its title from the British practice of reserving a high
table in college dining rooms for the academic elite. Eldredge relates
that the elite who dominated evolutionary theory from the 1950's were
mostly geneticists who did not take paleontology seriously. In 1984 John
Maynard Smith, in an article in Nature, invited paleontologists to rejoin
the metaphorical High Table of evolutionary theory[1].
According to Eldredge, the dominant view in evolutionary biology today is
that all evolutionary development can be explained in terms of the
competition among individuals to leave the maximum possible copies of their
genetic material for the next generation. According to this view, all
entities in biology above the organism level -- species, genera, orders and
so on up to and including ecosystems -- are merely epiphenomena of
reproductive competition, as are all forms of competition other than the
fundamental competition to leave more of one's own genes. The extreme of
this view is represented by Richard Dawkins' claim that the genes
themselves are the real players in this contest. Eldredge sees this as a
peculiar reversal of cause and effect, which makes selection an active
force rather than a passive recorder of what works and what doesn't in the
struggle of organisms for survival. This reductionist view has the
advantage of permitting geneticists to focus on development of a rigorous,
mechanistic "physics of biology," but what is sacrificed is the ability to
explain much of the fossil record.
Eldredge provides a rich overview of what paleontologists see of the
dynamics of species development. He sees a species as a distinct entity
which appears at some point in the fossil record and persists with little
change for perhaps several million years. Changes in environmental
conditions are more likely to lead to migrations and extinctions than
adaptive change (evolution). Periods of adaptive change, when they occur,
cluster around environmental changes that lead to migrations and
extinctions. To explain this pattern Eldredge considers the distributions
of species observable in nature, both in the fossil record and extant. His
conclusion is that ultra-Darwinians, by concentrating on reproduction
almost exclusively, are missing the importance of economic
interactions -- exchanges of matter and energy among organisms and between
organisms and their environment. Indeed, he points out that reproduction
is a luxury in that many organisms don't reproduce unless their other needs
are met. Eldredge argues for a science of evolution which endeavors to
account for the complex interactions in nature rather than narrowly
focusing on genetics and reproduction.
_Reinventing Darwin_ will provide little comfort to young-earth
creationists. Eldredgeaims not to destroy evolution, but to show how it
must proceed to be consistent with observable patterns in the fossil record
and among species living today. However, Eldredge's view of evolution
acknowledges the complex web of interconnected nonlinear dynamical systems
which comprise nature. Such a model is chaotic and exhibits sensitive
dependence on initial conditions and disturbances. In principle,
infinitesimal disturbances can cause significant redirection of the system
trajectory. Such behavior may explain how an omniscient Creator influences
nature undetected. Whether or not God uses the properties of nonlinear
dynamics to direct nature, a model which aims to account for all relevant
natural influences seems more satisfying than one which simply claims that
all phenomena result from the drive to reproduce.
The book is written for a nontechnical audience and will be of interest to
anyone wanting to understand the debate over punctuated equilibria.
_Reference_
[1] Smith, John Maynard, 1984. Paleontology at the high table, Nature, vol
309, pp401, 402
Reviewed by William E. Hamilton, Jr., General Motors Research and
Development Center, 30500 Mound Road, Warren, MI 48090-9055
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Bill and Linda Hamilton
1346 W. Fairview Lane
Rochester, MI 48306
(810) 652 4148
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